Kevin Garnett still rules Timberwolves

Rajon Rondo's double-digit assist streak may have ended, but Kevin Garnett's dominance of his former team continues. The Celtics beat the Timberwolves for the 11th consecutive time last night, 104-94, at the Garden. Ten of those victories have come since the Celtics acquired Garnett from Minnesota in the summer of 2007.

Rajon Rondo's double-digit assist streak may have ended, but Kevin Garnett's dominance of his former team continues.

The Celtics beat the Timberwolves for the 11th consecutive time last night, 104-94, at the Garden. Ten of those victories have come since the Celtics acquired Garnett from Minnesota in the summer of 2007.

Garnett's only former teammate on Minnesota is Greg Stiemsma, who played in Boston last season. None of the Timberwolves he played with are still with Minnesota. Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he still gets fired up to play against them, but Garnett insisted he did not. He said he didn't even know about his streak.

Nevertheless, Garnett made 8 of 13 shots and collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in 27 minutes. He has missed three games against his former team with injuries, but in his seven games against the Timberwolves, he has had five double-doubles and averaged 14.9 and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 61 percent.

“I love how aggressive he was offensively,” Rivers said. “You could see he was looking to score, which is always nice for us because his instincts are going to make him pass.”

“Our keys are always to go inside-out,” Jason Terry said, “and KG is our low-post threat. He's our guy. Not only can he score in there, but he's also a facilitator. He's one of the best passers we have besides Rondo.”

The Celtics' last loss to the Timberwolves came on Feb. 11, 2007, in Minnesota when Garnett was still a Timberwolf. That was the final defeat of Boston's 18-game losing streak.

Rondo returned from his two-game suspension for his scuffle with Brooklyn's Kris Humphries and dished out 11 assists to start a new streak of reaching double digits. His suspension late in the first half against the Nets a week earlier snapped his previous streak at 37 games.

Rondo also scored 17 points.

“He was pushing the ball,” Terry said. “He had fresh legs. He was at a good pace out there, and that's what we need. He's our leader, and it definitely felt good to have him back.”

Terry scored 17 points, and his 3-pointer capped an 11-3 run to open the fourth quarter and boost Boston's lead to 90-75. Paul Pierce scored 18.

Rivers said Jared Sullinger was sick, but he still managed to collect 7 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

“It just seemed like a whole team effort,” Rivers said. “Everyone had their moments, everybody was involved.”

The Celtics rank last in the league in rebounds, but they outrebounded Minnesota, 45-41.

“That's a hard team to rebound against,” Rivers said, “and we held our own.”

Kevin Love, who ranks second in the league in rebounding, paced Minnesota with 19 points and 13 rebounds, but turned over the ball five times as Garnett harassed him all night.

“He pokes and prods and elbows and jabs,” Love said, “does whatever he needs to do in order for his team to win, and you know, that sums up Kevin Garnett to me.”

“Defensively, we play with a lot of energy,” Garnett said. “We made them go to their second and third options, which is something they don't like to do. I thought we did a decent job on Kevin.”

The Celtics have won four of their last six.

“You can feel it starting to come,” Rivers said. “It's not here, but it's coming.”

The Timberwolves played Tuesday in Philadelphia, but the Celtics hadn't played since Saturday, so they were well rested.

Brandon Bass was 0 for 3 with three fouls in the first half, but he made all five of his shots and scored 10 of his 12 points in the third quarter to help the Celtics outscore Minnesota, 32-21, to grab a 79-72 lead. Terry's 3-pointer capped a 9-0 surge that put Boston ahead, 67-61.

Terry's 11-foot, pull-up jumper on the break capped a 10-0 surge that gave the Celtics a 39-32 lead with 7:18 left in the first half. Pierce and Rondo re-entered the game, and the Celtics' lead evaporated.

Pierce committed three of Boston's six turnovers in the final four minutes of the half, and Minnesota took a 51-47 lead into the break.

The Celtics made 10 of their first 13 shots to jump out to a 21-15 lead, but Minnesota's Alexey Shved's 3-pointer from well beyond the arc capped a 13-2 run that put the Timberwolves on top, 28-23.

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